Love Never Dies
by Haquikah
Summary: Takes place at the near end of Behemoth. Deryn and Alek are fighting the elephantines by the Telsa cannon when something that will change both their lives forever, but maybe it isn't all that bad? !MAYBE A ONE SHOT, IT DEPENDS!


Love Never Dies  
-The stuff in bold is from Behemoth somewhere near the end.  
- All original plots, characters and e tetra belong to Scott Westerfields.

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**The nearest elephant swung its trunk toward the Djinn, its machine guns blazing. Bullets struck armor with a sound like coins shaken in a tin. One bullet slipped in through the viewport, a sliver of hot metal striking sparks around their heads.  
"Are you hit?" Alek said.  
**Deryn groaned, blood spurting from her lips.  
"I am going to be fine," she said as she watched the pressure gauge.  
"Barking spiders!" Bovril replied.  
One of the elephantines took aim again but Deryn in quick retort pulled the trigger, throwing the spice bomb.  
The machine staggered but got steady quickly, having the wind as their benefactor.  
Deryn swore. " Bum-rag! The wind is too strong up here!"  
**But Alek didn't falter, barreling straight at the elephant. The direct hit had done some damage, at least. The Ottoman machine was stumbling about like a newborn calf.  
But just before they collided, the elephant's great head rolled on its neck, raising two barbed tusks.  
Alek twisted the saunters, but the walker was moving too fast to turn. With an awful shriek the djinn impaled itself upon one tusk, a white blast of steam shooting from the boilers in its chest.  
The air in the pilot's cabin turned wet and scalding, every valve hissing like a tea kettle. The elephant shook its head, tossing the djinn madly and throwing Deryn from her seat.  
**She screamed in agonizing pain, as **her hands splayed against the burning metal floor, and the beastie's claws went deep into her shoulder.  
"We're done for," she shouted, "Abandon ship!"  
"Not yet." Alek pulled a saunter back with one hand, hitting the bomb release with another, and with the djinn's last squick of strength brought its throwing arm down.  
Deryn **shakily **stood, squinting through her goggles to watch the remaining spice bombs-almost a dozen of them-rattle down the magazine to burst against the elephant's back.  
"Barking spiders, **"repeated **the perspicacious loris.  
"Open us up," Deryn said, **getting up. **" In another moment we won't be able to breathe!"  
While Alek spun the hand crank furiously, she kicked open the locker in the back of the cabin, pulling a mass of rope from it.  
"Aren't you glad we practiced belaying?" she shouted over the din of steam and gunfire.  
"I'd rather not know what's coming," Alek said.  
**"Just go you daft prince!" Deryn gasped out. Quickly hiding the bloody spittle with her hand.  
**As the djinn's head opened, Deryn tied the rope off and flung it over the back of the walker. Stepping up onto the cabin's edge, she peered down into the nebulous white cloud beneath them. The last steam from the djinn's boilers was still billowing from the tusk protruding from its back.  
"I'll go first," she said. "So if you slide too fast, I'll break your fall."  
"Won't that hurt a bit?"  
"Aye! So don't slide too fast!"  
Deryn clipped herself to the rope taking one last look at the battle spread out around them. **Lillt had taken care of the remaining elephantines.  
**Then she saw it Sahmeran lying on her belly half a mile from the tower, pouring out black smoke and burning oil.  
"Zavern's been hit!" she cried.  
"And that's not all." Alek pointed towards the city, where a new column of smoke was rising in the distance.  
"Blisters! Enemy reinforcements!"  
"Don't worry. That walker's ten kilometers away, and the Ottomans don't have anything fast."  
"Fast," Bovril said.  
Deryn gave it a hard look. " What in blazes are you saying, beastie?"  
"Fast," it said again.  
"Look," Alek said. "**Klopp is coming!"  
**Klopp didn't veer toward the disarmed elephantine or the cannon- he was headed straight towards them!  
**"Blisters! Let's just go and direct him away before he misses his chance!" Deryn yelled as she went sliding down through the clouds of vapour.  
Alek hesitantly followed, pulling his pilot gloves up.  
**Learning how to "belay" as Dylan called it, had taught him a healthy respect for rope burn. He swallowed, the tastes of paprika and cayenne heavy in his mouth, and jumped…  
**Rope whipped wildly about him as he went through the vapor. **He jerked himself to a painful halt every few meters, his boots banging against the hot metal of the djinn's armor. Steam clouds swirled around him, the engines inside the walker knocking and hissing as they cooled. As his feet thumped down onto the hard earth, Alek pulled off his gloves to stare at his burning palms.  
**"Go ahead and warn Klopp," Deryn wheezed. " I will be waiting."  
Alek, concerned, nodded and ran in the direction of the Iron Golem.  
He waved his hands wildly pointing towards the Telsa cannon.  
Klopp got the message and turned towards the Telsa cannon speedily, turning.  
When Klopp reached the cannon, he was met by Sahmeran and together they brought down the cannon, in a whirl of sparks that blinded Alek.  
"Klopp.." Alek whispered painfully.  
Suddenly a weak cry filled the air.  
"Alek…"  
He turned and ran back to Dylan.  
**"Are you all right, Dylan?" Alek's words sounded muffled in his own ears.  
**Dylan looked up and gave him a bloody smile.  
Alek gasped in horror and shock.  
"Wha-Wha-What do I do?"  
Deryn weakly smiled, "Just get me to the cliff so I can signal _the Leviathan_."  
Unsure, Alek helped her up and hobbled towards the cliff.  
As they sat down, Deryn whispered, "See there's Lillt now. Give me my signal flags now, please."  
Weakly, Deryn stood up and signaled t_he Leviathan_  
S-H-A-R-P.  
Once she was done, she collapses on the cliff, breathing shallowly.  
Alek tried to help her up again but she refused.  
"Leviathan was your best chance, Alek."  
"Let me help you!" he shouted angrily as Deryn kept stopping his probing hands searching for the wound.  
" Once you get on the Leviathan don't let them find out I am a girl. Get Dr. Barlow first if you can, she'll understand."  
Alek nodded but stopped in mid-nod. Did Dylan just say he was a girl?!  
"What?"  
Mournfully, Deryn looked up at him.  
" Sit by me I'll try to explai-" Deryn wheezed loudly, " explain."  
Alek hesitantly sat by Dylan.  
" I am a girl. If I die, tell Jaspert I'm sorry and send Lillt off, back to the city, the battles still going on there."  
The _Leviathan_ loomed closer, almost upon the two slight figures on the cliff.  
Unexpectedly, Dylan awkwardly hugged Alek and whispered in his ear, I love you." And pecked him on the cheek leaving a bloody mark on Alek's cheek before going limp.  
"Dylan?" Alek asked frightened.  
Dylan just lay on Alek's shoulder breathing but just barely.  
The Leviathan sent down a rope ladder with Newkirk and another middy.  
Alek with renewed vigor picked Dylan up and yelled, "Someone get Dr. Barlow!"  
The middies sped back up the ladder yelling choruses of "Dr. Barlow!"  
Alek delicately got on the rope ladder and tried going up a few rungs but failed miserably.  
So he just waited to be pulled up, hoping desperately that Dylan or whatever her name was, was okay.

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Review? Love, Hate? Constructive criticism appreciated! This may or may not be a one shot. This is not at the top of my list of things to write, so who knows.


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